Inca Music in Oxford Music Online

3/4/2014 Inca music in Oxford Music Online

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/13749?q=inca&search=quick&source=omo_gmo&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit 1/8

Oxford MusicOnline

Results list Next result

(a) Single-row stonepanpipes, 13001500 CE;(b) musicians with

article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/13749

Inca music.

Music of the Pre-Columbian culture of the Central Andean area of South America.

1. Introduction.

The Inca Tahuantisuyo (Empire or state) was the peak of a long process of

development, starting with the first migrants, who arrived in the Andes

approximately 15, 000 years ago, culminating in the Zapac Inca, who shaped and

extended the Tahuantisuyo in the years 14501535. The empire reached its

maximum size under the Inca Huyna Capac (14931527). When the Spaniards

arrived, the Tahuantinsuyo extended in length from the extreme south of Colombia

as far as the River Maule in Chile and in breadth from the Pacific Ocean to the

high ground of the Amazon.

The Inca capital was Cusco, a city of magnificent architecture built with enormous

polished stones set with precious metals. Only some stone remains can be seen

today. Other splendours have survived only in the descriptions of chroniclers.

Little is known of musical instruments made of precious metals as they fell victim

to the invaders insatiable greed to possess the Incas' dazzling riches of silver

and gold. Objects made of precious metals, including musical instruments, were

melted down into exportable ingots. Later, when the Viceroyalty of PERU was

established, the Spaniards also destroyed instruments made of organic materials,

because they were associated with Inca ceremonies, which were considered

idolatrous rites and thus banned by both Catholic clergy and the colonial

government.

Ceramic objects survive from between 2000 and 100

BCE, including sound-producing instruments of fine

quality that show individual stylistic traits.

Grove Music OnlineInca music

About the Index

Show related links



transverse

The cultures of that period include: Chorrera, Guangala, Baha, Jama Coaque,

Guayaquil, Tolita, Capul, El Angel, Tuncahun, all situated in what is now the

country of Ecuador, and Tembladera, Jequetepeque, Guaape, Chavn, Paracas,

Salinar, Vics, Tablada de Lurn, Pukara in modern Peru.

Later cultures, between 100 and 600 CE, produced the highest achievements of

ceramic instruments in terms of technique and construction. The greatest

exponents were the Mochica and the Nasca (Peru), and, the Cuasmal, Manteo,

Cosanga and Purhua (northern Andes and Ecuador). The Wari (6001000 CE)

were the first to attempt to create an empire in the central Andean region. From

Ayacucho, they dominated an area extending from Cajamarca and Lambayeque

to the north, and as far as Cusco and Arequipa to the south. Little is known about

their instrument-making, but they did overpower the Mochica and Nasca in the

course of their expansion.

By approximately 1000 CE Wari society had disintegrated, giving way to the

Sicn, Chim, Chincha and Chancay in Peru, and the Cuasmal, Manteo,

Cosanga and Purhua in Ecuador. These peoples had not been dominated by the

Wari and had therefore continued the development of their societies without the

strong influence exercised by the Wari on those they conquered. In a similar way

the Gentilar in Arica and Tarapac in Chile, among others, were also outside the

ambit of the Wari.

In 1450, after almost 100 years of large-scale aggression, the Incas came to

dominate virtually all the peoples of the Andean region. They were thus able to

choose the best instrument-makers; those who had inherited a long history of

both knowledge of acoustics and techniques of construction.

The customs of the Incas and the peoples of the Tahuantinsuyo are known only

through the accounts of the Spanish conquerors and the chronicles and

documents which describe the period. Such writers had no knowledge of the

lengthy history of Andean culture and as a result the information they provide is

limited to the previous 100 or 150 years of Andean customs and heroic legend.

Through their imperial position the Incas organized new social, political and

economic structures and new means of productivity and technology, in what was

to become the final stage of the Andean cultures long history. Yet at this moment

of cultural evolution, the territory was destined to be invaded, leading to its

destabilization and the destruction and loss of all that had been achieved over

many thousands of years. A great deal of knowledge, including that related to

instrument-making, was lost for ever.

An account by Cabello de Balboa explains one of the causes, as well as the

tragedy, of this destruction, reporting how after Francisco Pizarro ordered his

army to seize the gold from Cusco and Pachacamac, the Spaniards pillaged the

palace, taking gold, silver, and everything else of value. Among those objects

must have been drums and other musical instruments musical instruments.

Once the colony was established, not even burial places went unmolested. The



ransacking for gold of burial places high up on the dry land of the Chincha valley is

related in chronicles. Other narrators reported on the customs, dances and

instruments encountered.

2. Musical instruments of theTahuantinsuyo.

The Tahuantinsuyo consisted of many diverse peoples with their own particular

musical instruments dominated by the Incas. From the chronicles it is known that

taqui, which designated both dances and songs, were used to celebrate joyful as

well as sad and mournful occasions, using musical instruments kept essentially

for such dances and revels. Playing was spontaneous: whoever took up an

instrument was considered as mastering it at the first lesson, there was little

sweetness in the sound, and even less artistry (Cobo, 1956 p.270). The most

common instrument was the drum, called huancar, made in both large and small

sizes from a hollow branch, each end covered with a llama skin, like a thin dry

parchment. The largest drums were compared to European military drums, but

considered to be even bigger in size, while the smaller ones were described as

being like a little jar of preserves, and the middle-sized like a European

tambourine. All were played with one stick, which on gala occasions was

sometimes covered with different coloured wools, while the drums were painted

and decorated. The drums were played by both men and women; some dances

were accompanied by just one, while at others everyone carried a little drum,

dancing and playing at the same time. Cobo also reports the use of a kind of

Moorish tambourine, called huancartinya.

Cobo noted that while some instruments were similar to those found in Spain,

others were unfamiliar, original to the Andean people. Thus we learn that the

pincollo was like a fife; the quenaquena was like a reed, and was used to

accompany dirges; the quepa was a small trumpet made from a large gourd; the

ayarachic was a kind of antara (panpipes) used in dance; the zacapas, bells

made of seeds and attached to the toes; the chanrara, handbells made of copper

and silver. The most common of all, according to Cobo, were called churu, made

of large and various coloured sea shells.

Musical polyphony was a speciality of the Collas, achieved through the playing of

instruments which were almost certainly antara (panpipes), combined together in

a manner similar to that of present-day sikuris groups of the altiplano. Without

naming the instrument, Garcilaso (1943) describes:

There were four of these little reeds attached to each other, some different from

others. One of them sounded the low notes, another the higher, and another even

higher and higher, like the natural range of four voices: treble, tenor, alto and bass.

When one Indian played a little reed, another replied in harmony.



Cobo (1956) describes a similar instrument, although not played as part of a

group:

Also, in their dances, they usually play an instrument made of approximately

seven little flutes, placed like organ pipes, side by side, and unequal, the largest

as big as the palm of a hand and the rest in descending order. They call this

instrument ayarachic, and they play it placed on the lower lip, blowing into these

little flutes to produce a muffled sound which is not very sweet.

3. Huacas: the place of ritual and itsmusical instruments.

All Andean religious activities regularly took place at ceremonial places called

huacas; here rituals were carried out that were considered idolatrous by Catholic

clergy and therefore harshly persecuted. So-called extirpators of idolatry

zealously dedicated their lives to discovery of these rituals and the punishment of

those who participated. Tireless campaigns were waged, with some extirpators

leaving behind detailed descriptions of the places, the ritual events and their own

methods and rules of punishment. Father Francisco Pablo de Arriaga gave

detailed descriptions of ritual effects expressed his disapproval of various

instruments which were not seized, including those used to summon people to

the feasts of the huacas and to celebrate them. These included many very old

copper or silver trumpets of a different shape and form from those of the

Spaniards, large shells called antara or pututu pincollo, and flutes made of bone

and of cane. He also reported heads and horns of tarucas (a kind of stag),

calabashes, calabash drinking vessels and other aquillas, drinking vessels made

of silver, wood and clay, of various shapes, used for the feasts of the huacas, as

well as large numbers of tambourines used for revels (Arriaga, 1920).

The runatinya, a drum made of human skin (runa means man; tinya means

drum), of which no physical or iconographical evidence has been found in earlier

cultures, is known only through the description of certain chronicles. It appears

that this was not in fact a drum to be played, but a hideous object that the Incas

made out of the human skin of conquered chiefs and leaders in order to show

their power and intimidate opponents. Vivid accounts exist: one such account

from Cusco, written by Alonso de Meza, who took part in the conquest of the

Andean territory, tells how the Incas made such drums by killing the person but

leaving the head and arms intact, removing the bones from inside and filling them

with ash; making a drum out of the belly; and placing the hands and head on the

drum, so that when they blew through them, the drums emitted sounds by

themselves (Meza, 1920 p.129).

An account from Montesinos tells how Sinchi Roca, after defeating the Seores of

Andagylas, entered Cusco. He was preceded by songs of praise, trumpets and

drums, followed by two thousand soldiers, with six drums shaped like men, made



from the skins of the caciques and captains they had marked out in the battle.

They skinned them alive, and when filled with air, they looked very like their

owners, and they played on their stomachs with little drumsticks to show their

contempt. Four thousand soldiers came marching along to these sounds. Behind

them came many captured chiefs and captains, and they were followed by more

soldiers, and then by six more drums like the first. One captive, the Seor de

Andagylas, was held naked on a platform surrounded by six drums made of

the skins of his relations, and they made sounds come out of these drums'

(Montesinos, 1930).

4. Inca festivals and dance.

Andean peoples' practice was to celebrate daily activities, both regular and

special, with music and dance. Grand dignitaries had at their disposal a variety of

musical instruments, performers and dancers for different occasions. Guamn

Poma describes feasts of the Capac Apo, or great seores of the

Tahuantinsuyo, which used various musical instruments for dance, including very

large drums called pomatinya made of puma skin; guayllaquepa trumpets, made

of shells; the pototo, made of calabash or lagenaria; a flute called a pingollo; the

antara, made of reed; and other wind instruments such as the pipo, catauri,

uaroro, kena-quena and chiuca. Each instrument, particular to each ayllo

(extended family unit), was used at festivals of the Incas and at those of the chiefs

of each region.

The Incas were extremely exuberant in their ceremonies and festivals. Santa

Cruz Pachacuti describes how the Inca Roca, to celebrate the birth of his son

Yabarvaca, the future Inca, decorated the streets and square with arches made of

feathers, and how they made up songs with eight drums and caxas temerarias

(large drums), the songs were called ayma, forma, cave and vallina,

chamayuricsa and haylli and cachua (Pachacuti, 1927 p.171).

Garcilaso pointed out that each and every province of Peru had its own specific

way of dancing; dances were never changed or exchanged, and peoples were

recognized in this way, as well as by their different head-dresses. He noted how

the Incas dancing was solemn and uncomplicated, with no hopping or leaping or

other movements found in other dances. Only the Inca men danced, women were

not permitted to dance among men. One solemn dance involved each participant

holding the hands of the next-dancer-but-one, that is, the person second, rather

than immediately, in front of them, at times creating a chain of 200 to 300 men or

more depending on the solemnity of the occasion. The dance was begun at a

distance from its focus, the Inca king, its movements involving all dancers coming

out together, taking three steps at a time, the first backwards, the next two

forwards, repeating this movement and gradually moving forwards until they

reached the middle of the enclosure where the Inca sat. Songs were recited to the

rhythm of the dance, composed in praise of the Inca dignitary present, of his



ancestors and others of the same blood, mentioning deeds carried out in peace

or in war, with singing alternated between groups to avoid tiredness. The Incas

watching would join in while the Inca king sometimes danced at the festivals to

solemnize them more.

5. Inca parades, processions and customs.

For the practice of the Qispiranpa, the Inca and his wife, the Colla, would parade

through the city, carried on a platform. Guamn Poma describes how in

processions, the Inca, accompanied by servants, adorned with his royal

decorations and his standard, would bring musicians playing trumpets and flutes.

His whole retinue would dance along to the sound of taqui (Guamn Poma, vol.1,

p.249). The Inca would participate in some festivals, particularly one at which the

uaricza was danced and sung with a red-coloured llama called the puca llama,

the song intoned to imitate the gentle cry of the puma. Such a dancesong would

be repeated gradually and rhythmically for half an hour, the sound characterized

by the y-y-y cry emitted by the llama, simultaneously intoned by the Inca by

several repeated yn sounds while maintaining appropriate rhythm and tone.

Verses interjected and responded to by others taking part, including the Colla and

Nustas, were at first intoned loudly, with voices gradually lowered until a gentle

tone was reached, a tone thought to characterize the uaricza and the araui.

Guamn Poma also noted that the Colla, Cusi Chimbo, the wife of Inca Roca,

was fond of singing, making music, playing the tinya drum, arranging festivals and

banquets (ibid., vol.1, p.96). Raua Ocllo, the wife of Huayna Capac, is also noted

for her fondness for music, with a thousand people at her disposal for festivals,

some dancing, others singing to the sound of the drums or making music with

pingollos flutes. She also had singers of araui living in her house (Guamn Poma,

vol.1). The Incas and their wives were not only fond of music, dances and

festivals in themselves, but also as symbols of status and power. This was not

unique to the Incas, but was common throughout the Andes regionand

necessitated the retention of expert musicians and dancers.

6. Andean music at the beginning of theColonial era.

Following the establishment of the Spanish Viceroyalty, Inca customs and those

of the peoples of the Tahuantinsuyo underwent inevitable transformations,

including the introduction of new musical instruments, some of which were

subject to considerable modifications. While some ecclesiastics decreed the use

of Andean music, songs and dances inappropriate for Catholic worship, Guamn

Poma tried to get this decree altered, indicating that in his opinion certain Inca

music and dances were suitable for Christian festivities. In his writings he argued



that the principal chiefs, Indian men and women, should have the right to dance

and to sing taqui (songs); the haylli (song of victory) the uacn uauco (song of the

Chinchaysuyos) the sainata (mask song); the llamallama (song of the

shepherds); the hayachuco (war song); the Cimo Capac (song of the great

Chimu); the Ayanya (song of the dead one); the Guarmi Auca (song of the

woman warrior); the Antisuyo (song of the Anti); the chipchillanto (brilliant song);

the uaruro (light song); the hahiua (song of the punished acollas or adulterous

women); the apac (song of the absent); the llamaya (song of the llama

shepherds); the harauay (song of the craftsmen); the uaricza (song of the

creator); the tumipampa (song of the tumi ceremonial knife); the haraui (a

triumphal song for harvests and time of war); the pingollo (song to the sound of

the pingollo flute); the quenquena (song of the kena flute); the catauri song that is

danced while spinning round); as well as Spanish,negro and other Amerindian

dances. He advised that they should be danced in front of the Most Holy

Sacrament of the Virgin and all the Saints, at feasts of vigil, at Easter and at all the

feast days of the year marked out by the Holy Mother Church. Those who do not

observe this will be punished (Guamn Poma, 1956).

While there were objections to the principle of accepting the music and dances of

the peoples of the Tahuantinsuyo, the Spaniards expressed surprise at the

remarkable musical qualities and facility for music of the Andean people, their

ability to learn to read, write and sing organ chants, play hornpipes, flutes, organs

and all kinds of music (Herrera, 1726). Deductions can be made regarding the

music of the Incas and the Tahuantinsuyo, and of earlier periods, by studying both

old and contemporary genres and melodies of Andean music. While certain kinds

of music have been modified in both form and expression, characteristic features

are preserved. Throughthese endure the surviving traditions and customs with

each modification signalling a new phase.

Bibliography

A. de Herrera: Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en la isla y tierra-

firme del mar oceano (Madrid, 1726)

J.P. de Arriaga: La extirpacin de la idolatra en el Per (Lima, 1920), 75

M. Cabello de Balboa: Historia del Per bajo la dominacin de los incas (Lima,

1920)

A. de Meza: Informaciones de virrey Toledo, acerca de la tirana de los incas, y las

verificadas en Jauja, Cuzco, Guamanga y Yucay (157072), Informaciones sobre

el antiguo Peru (cronicas de 1533 a 1575) , ed. H.H. Urteaga, Coleccion de libros

y documentos referentes a la historia del Per, 2nd ser., iii (Lima, 1921), 10344

J. de Santacruz Pachacuti Yamqui: Relacin de antiguedades desde el reyno del

Per, Historia de los incas y relacin de su gobierno, ed. H.H. Urteaga (Lima,

1927), 127235



Copyright Oxford University Press 2007 2014.

F. Montesinos: Memorias antiguas historiales y polticas del Per, Coleccin de

libros y Documentos referentes a la historia del Per, 2nd ser., vi (Lima, 1930),

95

F. Guamn Poma de Ayala: Nueva cornica y buen gobierno (Paris, 1936)

I. Garcilaso de la Vega: Comentarios Reales de los Incas (Buenos Aires, 1943), i,

119; ii, 218

B. Cobo: De los juegos que teran para entretenerse, sus instrumentos msicas y

bailes, ed. F. Mateos, Biblioteca de autores espaoles, xcii (Madrid 1956), 269

71

R. Stevenson: Music in Aztec and Inca Territory (Berkeley and London, 1968/R)

M.E. Grebe: Instrumentos musicales precolombinos, RMC, no.128 (1974), 555

L.G. Lumbreras: Crticas y perspectivas de la arqueologa andina (Peru, 1979)

P. Porras: Arqueologia del Ecuador (Quito, 1980)

P. Cieza de Leon: Crnica del Per (Lima, 1984)

C. Bolaos: La msica en el antiguo Per, La msica en el Per (Lima, 1985), 1

64

J. Idovro Irigen: Instrumentos musicales prehispnicos del Ecuador (Ecuador,

1987)

Cesar Bolanos

Inca Music in Oxford Music Online

Documents

Transcript of Inca Music in Oxford Music Online